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Monday, June 15, 2009

Mantena's Special - Dondakaya Chutney

Today’s special on Mantena’s Kitchen is Dondakaya Chutney (Ivy Gourd Chutney). It’s special because, it’s delicious and healthy. You find it delicious if served on hot dosas, phulkas and even on dal rice. Let me remind you again, Mantena’s dishes are for health conscious people. There is no use of salt, oil, ghee and masalas (spices) etc. in it. The process of making this Chutney is quite simple and anyone can try it out, at home.

Tips while Eating Mantena’s Dishes:

It is essential to inform you an important point here. Eating salt free food is obviously difficult for all. You may find salt free dishes very difficult to eat for about 10 -15 days. After that you may get used to it gradually. This is because the taste buds of our tongue lasts only for 10 days. After 10 days the new buds are formed. What ever the kind of food you provide to these new buds they used to get complied with it. Therefore, if you follow Mantena’s dishes for about a fortnight, you may enjoy it thereon.

Never compare this dish with the one available in the market. Serve it hot. The tongue may not feel the need of salt when served hot.

Remember that you are eating for your good health.

Keep a lemon aside while eating salt free food. Peel off the juice on the food to make the tongue feel happy.

Biting green chilly while eating also makes the tongue happy. Moreover green chilly helps in digestion. Avoid Red Chilly and red chilly powder because it is 3 times spicier than the green chilly, which is harmful to our body.

Eat for your body, not for your tongue.

Do not satisfy a 2” tongue at the expense of other vital parts of your body.

Ingredients:

The ingredients we took for this recipe is again for a family of 7 to 8 members. You are advised to adjust the ingredients in proportion to the members of your family accordingly.

1. ½ Kg Donda Kaya (Ivy Gourd)

2. 100 Gm Green Chillies (little less if too spicy)

3. 1 Bundle Coriander Leaves

4. 9-10 nos. of Curry Leaves

5. 1 bowl of Curd

6. 100 Gm Groundnuts (Veru Sanaga Pappu)

7. 100 Grams Chana Dal (Sanaga Pappu)

8. 100 Grams White Sesame Seeds (Nuvvulu)

8. 30 gms Black Urad Dall (Mina Pappu)

9. 3 Big size Lemons

Procedure:

Chop Dondakaya (Ivy Gourds) into pieces as shown in the picture above and keep it in a plate.

Roast the Sesame Seeds and Groundnuts and keep it in a bowl separately.

Put on the stove and keep a pan on the flame. Now roast the Chana and Urad Dall in a Pan for a while. Since we aren’t using the oil, we simply roast them for some time. It’s a very natural and healthy process. Our ancestors used to cook in this way before discovering the oil.

When Dall gets roasted, add Donda Kaya (Ivy Gourd) into the pan.

Add green Chillies, Curry Leaves, and Curd into the pan and let it cook for 5 – 10 minutes approximately. In Mantena’s kitchen curd or buttermilk is often used to cook the vegetables instead of water, because it adds a punch of flavour to our salt free dish.

Add Lemon Juice of one lemon into it and mix it well with the ingredients.

Remove the pan from the stove after 10 minutes and put the ingredients in a plate and let it cool down for a few minutes. Don’t cook them for long. Remove when they are half cooked just after the raw flavour vanishes. Because the enzymes in half cooked food remains intact to great extent when compared to fully cooked food.

Take the Groundnuts and Sesame Seeds and grind it into powder in the Mixer Grinder.

Grind the half cooked ingredients in the Mixer Grinder and make paste of it. Add little curd to grind the ingredients well.

Now remove the paste and mix it up with the powder of groundnuts and sesame seeds.

Finally add the lemon juice into it and garnish it with the coriander leaves.

Our special and healthy Dosakaya Chutney is ready to eat now. Serve it fresh on hot doshas, Phulkas or dal rice. I bet you find this chutney really delicious and nutritious. The only complaint your tongue might register is the lack of salt. I guess many of you might end up adding salt to it, if you are new to salt free dishes. Others might not have any problems. I hope you will try at home and eat this kind of harmless food and encourage others to eat them as well. Hope you will like this recipe. Watch the space for more healthy dishes in my next updates. Till then, Eat Healthy…! Stay Healthy…!